Aussie telcos gouge customers on 1800 calls

Distributors

Vodafone, TPG and Dodo are among a list of telcos who have not lived up to their commitments to make all calls to 1800 numbers free from mobile phones.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is "disappointed" to learn that 12 Australian telcos have yet meet the January 1 deadline.

The deadline for delivery was proposed by the telco industry to implement this change, with the blessing of the ACMA.

Previously ACCAN noted that consumers would hold the industry to its commitments in regard to 1800 numbers.

ACCAN chief executive, Teresa Corbin, said, "six weeks past the delivery date the number of telcos that have yet to implement this change is disappointing,” she said.

“It’s unfair for some consumers who are still paying for mobile calls to 1800 numbers which are used by essential services like Centrelink, financial counsellors, and drug, alcohol and mental health services."

She said organisations were keen to let their clients know they can call their 1800 contact numbers for free.

“Recent statistics show that consumers are increasingly reliant on mobile phones for communicating," he said.

"Many businesses and organisations use 1800 numbers because they are free to call for their customers.

On a more positive note, seven telcos have confirmed to ACCAN that they have made calls to 1800 numbers free for their mobile phone customers, including the big two - Telstra and Optus. The other telcos are: amaysim, Virgin, iiNet, Spintel and Boost Mobile.

Corbin said it was good news that these telcos had made the switch so that 1800 calls are finally free for their mobile customers.

"ACCAN has been working with industry to achieve this outcome since 2010 and we’re urging all mobile telcos to follow the lead by making 1800 number calls free for all Australian mobile consumers in the near future.

The telcos listed who have failed to make 1800 number calls free of charge on all mobile plans include Vodafone, TPG, Dodo, Vaya, Yatango, Cmobile, Live Connected, Bendigo Bank Telco, Hello Mobile, GoTalk, Lebara Mobile and AldiMobile.

Consumers should check the call rate for 1800 numbers on their individual plans and if they remain costly look for alternative means of contacting businesses and organisations that use 1800 numbers. Some of these organisations can instead be contacted through websites, social media and apps.

The telcos that haven’t implemented free calls to 1800 numbers from all mobile phone plans are accurate as of February 13, 2015.

Channel Deals

Tely HD Pro & Wireless Audiopod

ARN Distributor Directory

ARN Vendor Directory

Slideshows

​Inside the new HP Customer Welcome Centre in Sydney…

HP unveiled its new Customer Welcome Centre (CWC) in Sydney this week, following on more than a year after the vendor opened the doors of its Experience Centre in Melbourne (MEC). The new space offers on-site HP technicians and visiting channel partners the ability to reconfigure equipment and put together tailored solutions based on the needs of individual end clients or target vertical markets. The centre can also be booked by customers and partners for meetings, events, workshops, seminars, and training. Photos by HP.

Zscaler Australia toasts the channel at Xmas drinks

Zscaler recently hosted its partner update and Christmas drinks event in Australia where more than 20 partners attended the event at the QT hotel in the Sydney. The event provided a forum for the company to update its Australian partners on the company's strategy for cloud security in the year ahead. It was also a great opportunity for the company to introduce Sean Kopelke as country manager for A/NZ. The event ended with Christmas drinks and a celebration of momentum gained in 2016.

IN PICTURES: ​Nutanix X Tours

Nutanix recently held two ‘X Tours’, which brought the company’s flagship event .NEXT to Brisbane and Melbourne. Customers and partners got a firsthand look at the new era of IT and exposure to the potential of the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud platform. Both events featured key speakers both from Nutanix and its partners.

iasset.com is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales, marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.

Copyright 2016 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.